Just what I was looking for--Celery-Stuffed Flounder

Celery-Stuffed Flounder
The New York Times Menu Cookbook Copyright 1966

2 pounds flounder fillets
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 ½ cups finely chopped celery
¼ cup butter
2 cups soft fresh bread crumbs
¼ teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
Fresh lemon slices and parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to moderate (350 degrees F).
2. Wipe the fish with a damp cloth. Mix together one teaspoon of the salt, one-quarter teaspoon of the pepper and 3 teaspoons of the lemon juice. Rub over both sides of the fish. Let stand for twenty minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and celery and three tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the bread crumbs, remaining salt and pepper, the rosemary and remaining lemon juice; mix well.
4. Grease a one-and-one-half quart long shallow baking dish. Place half the fish in the dish. Cover with the bread-crumb mixture. Top with the remaining fish. Melt the remaining butter and brush over the top. Cover and bake for thirty to forty minutes.
5. Remove the cover and place under the broiler to brown. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.
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This cookbook is a 'companion' to the New York Times Cookbook which I also own. I own four Craig Clairborne books and I trust his recipes. They've held up well through the years.

I've been looking for recipes using flounder, especially a simple stuffed flounder, so this caught my eye right away. I like that the ingredients are very basic. I used some leftover dinner rolls that I had in the freezer for the breadcrumbs. I admit I didn't follow the recipe exactly but I didn't vary the ingredients, just the amounts. I know I didn't use two pounds of flounder and basically didn't measure anything else. It didn't take very long to bake since I used a large dish so that the heat could better circulate around it.

This was something I would make again. It was simple and tasty. I love crab-stuffed flounder but we avoid shellfish since my son hasn't been tested for shellfish allergy yet. This was a nice substitute. It was worth turning on the oven, even in this heat. (Thank God for A/C.)

Blast From The Past: Shrimp Scampi from December 2005. I can't make it right now but you can.

Question of the Day: Do you spend less time on the internet during the warmer months?